Ides Ofune

Profile

I have over eight years of experience spanning the financial and development sectors. I was part of team that implemented the pilot initiative of Nigeria’s pioneer innovative citizen-led household survey that assesses Nigerian children between the ages of 5-15 on their literacy and numeracy skills. This learning assessment has a strong theme of education, transparency, accountability, citizen agency and civil society. Prior to this, I worked with The President Carter Centre in the United States of America where I supported development programmes and policy initiatives in the health programs, peace efforts in the monitoring of elections in some African states. I am also a human resource professional who worked in the same capacity in the Banking sector before intentionally switching career to the development sector. In 2016, I became a fellow of the Obama Young Africa’s Leadership Initiative (YALI West Africa) RLC. I currently run Desert Bloom Initiative on www.desertbloomadviroy.com which is designed to support outstanding grassroot Non for Profit Organisations (NGOs), Activists, social movements, social entrepreneurs and individuals in Africa. These set of individuals and organisations do great work in their own spheres. By telling their stories and showcasing their work online, we gain insights into how they operate, the challenges they face and the opportunities for potential collaboration.

In 2013, I received a full fellowship from the Central European University Budapest where I had my Master’s Degree in international development and Public Policy. My research proffered peaceful and workable solutions to the ongoing religious and cultural tensions in Nigeria. I earned a first class in Foreign Languages (French and German) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. I am an education advocate who passionately believes that the development of the African continent lies in equipping citizens with the right skills and knowledge. I speak English and French fluently. 

Research interests

My research aims to develop a framework on the concept of “social accountability” by placing particular emphasis on the social context and civil society organisations.  It seeks to answer the question: how does context in the framing of social accountability shape the collective actions of civil society organisations? It will investigate how civil society actors can act as change agents from the bottom-up, examining their characteristics, understanding the incentives that drive them and subsequently analysing their actions to further enhance a comprehensive framing of social accountability. The proposed framework rests on three important observations: i) that social accountability results from the interplay of particular types of CSOs engaging deeply with their own constituents; ii) that these organisations interface with critical information with particular emphasis on the data gathering process and iii) that they subsequently undertake bottom-up actions in their context targeting both state and non-state actors.   It will use UWEZO Kenya as a case study: UWEZO Kenya is a large-scale learning outcomes assessment that gathers evidence and uses data from the assessment to strengthen accountability by equipping a wide array of stakeholders with information and techniques for improving learning outcomes. 

My research will make a contribution to understanding the role of civil society organisations in social accountability in improving development outcomes. It addresses a significant gap in scholarly literature by the rigorous study of perceptions and actions, drawing from documentary analysis and interviews in carefully selected case studies where civil society organisations have worked closely with citizen-led assessments in local communities. This research will provide insights into best practices of CSOs making a case of their inclusion in theories of change of social accountability initiatives in development organisations.

Qualifications

• Master of Arts - International Public Policy
• Bachelor of Arts - Foreign Languages